Editing Battle of the Bulge (section)

===Allied supply issues===
The Allies faced major supply issues, due to the rate of their advance coupled with the initial lack of deep-water ports.{{sfn|Shirer|1990|pp=1088–1089}} Over-the-beach supply operations using the Normandy landing areas, and [[Landing Ship, Tank|direct landing ships]] on the beaches, were unable to meet operational needs. The only deep-water port the Allies had captured was [[Cherbourg-Octeville|Cherbourg]] on the northern shore of the [[Cotentin Peninsula|Cotentin peninsula]] and west of the original invasion beaches,{{sfn|Shirer|1990|pp=1088–1089}} but the Germans had thoroughly wrecked and mined the harbor before it could be taken. It took many months to rebuild its cargo-handling capability. The Allies captured the [[port of Antwerp]] intact in the first days of September, but it was not operational until 28 November. The estuary of the [[Schelde]] river that controlled access to the port had to be cleared of both German troops and [[naval mine]]s.{{sfn|Shirer|1990|p=1086}} These limitations led to differences between General Eisenhower and [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[Bernard Montgomery]], commander of the Anglo-Canadian [[21st Army Group]], over whether Montgomery or [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]] [[Omar Bradley]], commanding the [[Twelfth United States Army Group|U.S. 12th Army Group]], in the south would get priority access to supplies.{{sfn|Ryan|1995|p=68}} German forces [[Channel Ports#World War II|remained in control]] of several major ports on the [[English Channel]] coast into the autumn, while [[Siege of Dunkirk (1944–45)|Dunkirk remained under siege]] until the end of the war in May 1945.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Brief History of the U.S. Army in World War II |url=https://history.army.mil/brochures/brief/overview.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217070622/http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/brief/overview.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 December 2007 |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=history.army.mil}}</ref>

The Allies' efforts to [[Transport Plan|destroy the French railway system]] prior to [[D-Day]] were successful. This destruction hampered the German response to the invasion, but it proved equally hampering to the Allies, as it took time to repair the rail network's tracks and bridges. A trucking system nicknamed the [[Red Ball Express]] brought supplies to front-line troops, but used up five times as much fuel to reach the front line near the Belgian border. By early October, the Allies had suspended major offensives to improve their supply lines and supply availability at the front.{{sfn|Shirer|1990|pp=1088–1089}}

Montgomery and Bradley both pressed for priority delivery of supplies to their respective armies so they could continue their individual lines of advance and maintain pressure on the Germans, while Eisenhower preferred a broad-front strategy. He gave some priority to Montgomery's northern forces. This had the short-term goal of opening the urgently needed port of Antwerp and the long-term goal of capturing the [[Ruhr|Ruhr area]], the biggest industrial area of Germany.{{sfn|Shirer|1990|pp=1088–1089}} With the Allies stalled, German {{lang|de|[[Generalfeldmarschall]]}} ('Field Marshal') [[Gerd von Rundstedt]] was able to reorganize the disrupted German armies into a coherent defensive force.{{sfn|Shirer|1990|pp=1088–1089}}

Field Marshal Montgomery's [[Operation Market Garden]] had achieved only some of its objectives, while its territorial gains left the Allied supply situation stretched further than before. In October, the [[First Canadian Army]] fought the [[Battle of the Scheldt]], opening the port of Antwerp to shipping. As a result, by the end of October, the supply situation had eased somewhat.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}